Suddenly married (slow updates)

Chapter 7

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They stayed with the gang and talked for a long time.
Astrid never had true friends of her own so it was a nice change.
"So wait? You weren't friends before?" Astrid asked when the topic changed to the life they led before they bonded with dragons.

At her question, some of them looked ashamed, but in the end, it was Hiccup that spoke. "Well we all grew up together, but no...we uh,.. we weren't really close" he answered.

"why not?" Astrid asked.

"I'm the son of a very overprotective chief, and I wasn't allowed to play all the games that other kids do. I became a little socially stunted and kept on messing up, so I was made fun of"

"but that all changed when you befriended a nightfury, I can assume"

"the rest of the village actually hated him even more for that in the beginning" Fishlegs shook his head sadly.
   "We were more open to the idea because we were rowdy teenagers in search of adventures"

"yeah and then we killed the red dead yadda yadda yadda, and Hiccup suddenly became Berk's hero" Snotlout groaned.

"Now this is a story you haven't told me" Astrid turned to Hiccup who was seeming bashful, and then turned back to the gang. "what in the world is a red death?" she asked

Everyone exchanged glances before Tuffnut broke the silence. "it's basically an evil  dragon that lives by eating other dragons"

"it was the queen of the dragon's nest on dragon island. my father had tried to find the nest for as long as I could remember, not knowing what was waiting inside" Hiccup explained.

"what was specifically about this dragon?"

"oh just that it was tHE SIZE OF A MOUNTAIN?!" Snotlout suddenly started shouting, reliving the stress of that day.

"yeah it really was that big, wasn't it?" Fishlegs muttered.
   they were all grim memories of one of the most terrifying days of their young lives, but no matter how scary it had been Hiccup had had it worse.

"How did you survive it?" Astrid questioned.

Hiccup shrugged his shoulders, trying to appear nonchalant. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve." he joked.

"and how many are those?" She smirked.

"Hiccup actually made it blow up, didn't ya H?! I mean, it hit the ground and erupted into flames" Tuffnut explained while articulating wildly.
as a worshipper of Loki, and a lover of destruction it had been a sight for sore eyes, but of course, the amazement that would've been there was overshadowed by the worry for his friend who had been caught in that explosive fire.

"I thought that you didn't kill dragons?"

"of course, I never want to, but that situation called for it. I normally don't like the saying, "kill or be killed" but it fits this particular fight" Hiccup admitted.
Astrid sighed and shook her head at how stubbornly brave he was.

"I don't see why you wouldn't have told me about this. it really paints a picture" Astrid stated.

"o-oh, you think so?" Hiccup chuckled. "it doesn't pop into my mind as often as people would believe, and it's not how I'd define myself" he added, and everyone understood his hesitation to do so.

"but it did change you, it made you our leader" Fishlegs grinned.

OoOoOoO

Astrid and Hiccup decided to fly back home soon after their conversation about the red death, but it lingered in Astrid's mind.
"A dragon as big as a mountain, and you on a tiny nightfury" she recited, and he looked over his shoulder to hear what she had to say about it. "Caught in a firey explosion?"

"Yeah?"

"And you're...okay?" Astrid pressed.

Toothless made a worried sound and looked at them out of the corner of his eyes.
Hiccup just chuckled, it was a natural question to ask. "Not always" he admitted. "Sometimes I get a bit overwhelmed. I think I'm fine most of the time though" he looked behind him again to see Astrid worried.
he sighed. she was his wife and she deserved to know it all. "I...lost my leg back then,.. in that explosion I mean"

he had looked away again. but he felt Astrid tense behind him.
she honestly didn't know what she had thought had happened to his leg, but this was surprising.

"it hurts sometimes...the leg that isn't there anymore, but it's not as bad as it used to. I wouldn't say I'm very emotionally scarred by that day, I have my father, friends, and Toothless...and now you, to keep me from spiraling" He smiled at her reassuringly, hoping to reassure her.

"Hiccup...now I may ask a question that I have no right to"

"go ahead?"

"...I've come to respect the Berkians' friendship with the dragons...even admire it to an extend"
this immediately made Hiccup happy.
"But...how is it easy for you? you lost your leg to a dragon and..." she sighed. "I've been told about what happened to your mother" she added with a small voice.

"yeah, they say my mom was killed during a dragon raid" Hiccup nodded, but his voice held no particular grief. "I never met her, I was too little to remember, so I don't know what I've been missing. there are some identity issues I'll admit, but the one who actually suffered due to her loss was my father of course"
Astrid nodded along to the story.
"it would keep him awake at night, sometimes I think it still does. my father hated dragons, and disowned me when it was revealed I had been training one" he patted Toothless' head as he looked straight forward. "during the red death attack we reconciled, and he's always regretted being cruel towards me" Hiccup now smiled, "but, although the dragons have caused me and my family pain in so many ways, they've helped us in a lot more. I doubt my and my father's bond would be this strong without the help of the dragons, and I probably wouldn't have my friends either"

Astrid was smiling.
It was a great answer, and with every day she came to admire her husband even more, as well as his relationship with the dragons.

They landed mere minutes later after enjoying the rest of their flight in pleasant silence.
"Thank you for telling me everything, Hiccup. I know opening up isn't always the easy thing to do"

"Well, I've found it's best to just get it off of my chest whenever someone asks."

"That's true, and I feel honored to know I've become someone you trust enough to tell"

Hiccup looked at her, taking in the sight of her face lit up with happiness with how kind-heartedly she spoke to him.
"I..." Hiccup almost stopped himself, but after a brief pause, he continued. "I'm happy, you're the one I got to marry"

The blush was immediate, causing Hiccup to chuckle at the woman.

She placed a hand on his shoulder which caused a slight shiver to go through his body, and slowly leaned in to give a kiss on his cheek.
it was a normal thing for most wedded couples, but for them, it was a big step.
"Me too" she admitted and then walked inside, leaving Hiccup outside where he took done big gulps of air before following her inside.

they didn't speak more about their moment outside of the front door, but rather returned to their usual routine of preparing food while making small talk, and later going to bed, but of course, just because they didn't address it more for the evening didn't mean that it had meant nothing for the young pair.
Hiccup especially knew that he was falling for Astrid.
   He could barely believe it himself, but he couldn't deny the feelings that were coursing through his body each time Astrid showed any sign of affection towards him. It was something that he hadn't expected in this life, but here it was.

'This is real. This is happening' even though they were only married for a peace treaty.